Sunday, March 25, 2012

Follow Up On Sabra

As I was typing up Sabra's Log I was filled to the brim of memories and savoring every word  and photograph. She was a wish full filling boat. In addition to our trans pacific crossing, we sailed her inter island to Maui with 7 ladies on board, crossing at night going up the slot between Molokai and Lanai and having a blast with our friend Ben in Lahina who lived aboard his Crescendo. This was our shakedown cruise before the crossing and the main halyard broke on our return trip back to Honolulu just before we took the western tip of Molokai to our stern. It was good to have this happen before the pacific crossing. The Molokai channel is a rough section to cross as it is shallow and the NE trade winds and seas can pack a wallop. Inter island sailing  in Hawaii  is not for the novice sailor.















Sabra took us on the annual 3-day race around the island (Oahu) race, sponsored by the Waikiki Yacht Club. This time we had the fun-ist race ever, laughing ourselves silly with Jean, Bambi, Mike and his sweetheart, Lynne on board. It was a light wind race but we took to tacking through the NE Trades after leaving Diamond Head with the first night layover in Kaneohe Bay at the KBYC.  The next leg took us around Kahuku Point where we had a nice wing and wing downwind run  to Kaena Point. The second night we anchored in Pokai Bay on the western side. The third day was the slow, tacking slog back to Honolulu on the leeward shore of Oahu. We had the best time (fun) and not winning time.

Sabra at anchor Hanalei Bay























Hanalei Bay, Kauai
Google Images



















Mike and Lynne followed Sabra to Kauai in his CAl 29, anchoring in Hanalei Bay. From there 7 of us took a fabulous day sail down the exquisitely gorgeous, windward Na Pali coast and back with lots of wind and catching ulua for the BBQ. That was such a memorable trip.

Na Pali Coast Kauai
Google Images



















I had a self tending jib put on Sabra for when I was sailing her singlehanded or for short trips. Short tacking back up the Na Pali coast was primo and easy. I would call out, "tacking" and over she'd go and no one had to handle a line. Don't you just love it? Well not everyone did. There were a few sea sick folks who, upon entering the calm waters of Hanalei, cried out, "what a difference a bay makes" and "terra firma--the more firma, the less terra".

Speaking of  terra or terror. Sabra was my final potion that cured me of my fear of sailing and being in rough seas. When I stepped aboard her, I was never afraid, nor sea sick. Thank you Sabra, Sparkman/ Stephens and Nautor for making such a therapeutic boat that fit me to a tee.

My latest update on Sabra. In June 1987, I sold Sabra to Tami Oldham (Ashcraft). She is the famous lady mariner who got pitch-poled in the south pacific ocean during a hurricane, losing her fiancee, but being able to jury rig the boat and sail her back to the big island of Hawaii. She wrote the book, Red Sky in Mourning, about this experience. She was living in Friday Harbor at the time I sold her Sabra. She kept her for a few years and then sold her. A few weeks ago I called her to see if she knew the whereabouts of Sabra.
She had a hard time recalling specific information, but this is what she said. She thinks she sold her to a lady in Port Townsend, Wa. The lady may have been Jewish as she recalls the lady liking the name of Sabra. All this is new information for me. Another piece in the puzzle in my efforts to find Sabra.

Somewhere a Swan 36, hull number 74, built in 1969 is berthed in the Pacific North West.. Anyone with information about this boat, please notify me.

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Sabra Log: Interesting Stats



Repairs:
1. Autopilot-6.5 hrs
2. Vane-4.75 hrs
3. Belts on alternator starter generator- 4 hrs
4. Sails/cushions- 1 hr
5. Wiring- 5 hrs
6. Engine bleeding air- 3 hrs
7. Water filter and alcohol tank- 1.5 hrs
Total: 25.5 hrs

Winds/Speeds/Miles
Westerly winds: 72 hrs from Hanalei to Cape Flattery
Wind speeds- 00mph to 50mph- 3 gales
Boat speed- best 7.7k on 11 July. average boat speed from Hanalei to Cape Flattery- 5.068k
Day’s run- best- 167.5nm, least 89.5nm
Estimated Seas- 0ft to 25 ft.
Deepest sea- 20,400 feet
Water taken on- 90 gal
Fuel- 61 gal, used 40
Alcohol- 7 gal, used 3 gal
Miles- Hanalei to Cape Flattery-2554.5nm  Average- 121.64nm/day
            Honolulu to Tacoma- 2812.5nm
Fish Caught- 44; 24 Albacore, 5 Ahi, 5 Aku, 8 Mahi, 1 salmon, 1 long, skinny (?). 3 flying fish, squid found on deck, 1 bird.
Largest urinary output-  950cc

Ships sighted: 
7 July-3 fishing, 1 freighter
13 July- Freight
15 July- 5 fishing
17 July-1 vessel
20 July- Freighter
23 July- freighter
26 July- Matson Container Vessel
27 July- 2 fishing canneries, 2 freighters,
Total- 18

Total engine hrs from Hanalei to Neah Bay- 130hr, 36 min or equal to 5.43 days of motoring.

Celestial Navigation- 4 noon sights,  and on one day only we took 2 LOP+noon sight, no star sights

Saw only: 1 sunrise, 1 lunar eclipse, 4 star lighted nights, 3-4 days of sun, 2 sunsets and 17 days of cloud cover/or fog.

Sabra Log 28-31 July 82

28 July- Up early for breakfast. I slept on Sabra, warm and toasty, down bag, 2 wool blankets, wool cap, fog horn all night. The people in Neah Bay are really nice. Big salmon run, lots of fisherman, campers.

1135- finished a pot of coffee, overcast with light fog but clearing. Engine on without bleeding. Have 163 poled out to port+ full main moving right along 5k wind out of west. Hurray, here come the westerlies. We had 30 liters in aft tank when we departed today. Have preprogrammed 4 waypoints to Port Angeles. Bambi takes the ferry over to Port Angeles and we arrive at 1630. My friends Midge and Rosie are meeting us. I called another friend Pet, as she will be meeting us tomorrow in Port Ludlow, in her 30 ft trawler.
Hira plots course from Neah Bay to Port Angeles

























A beautiful sail downwind to PA, caught one salmon but threw him back. Met up with friends, had a wonderful Mexican dinner, saw their lovely home, They washed my Sabra shirt, as somehow it didn’t get washed yesterday at Neah Bay. Back on board I got a radio call from Bill Birchfield for tv coverage of our arrival into Tacoma.

29 July- Another beautiful sail from PA to Port Ludlow where we will rendezvous with some old Army friends. Bambi on board with us as of yesterday pm.. It is so great to have her join us, as she is always such a support on land and on sea. She has done many an hour sailing with us in Hawaii on Sabra, Double Trouble and the Josephine P. (Mike’s boat) Arrive PL at 1900 hrs. Pet, Davey and Retha have arrived on the 30 ft Trawler, Pet’s Toy from Gig Harbor and everyone is happy to see us.












































30 July- Fogged in and finally depart at 1115 hrs. Pet can’t believe she has to go so slow to stay side by side with us and finally make Gig Harbor at 2015. Other friends join us for a late dinner at the local restaurant. I had fried shrimp. Delicious.
Sabra in Colvos Passage
163+ full main
















































31 July-  We have a leisurely morning with friends and I now don’t want this trip to ever end.
Depart at 1230 and motor over to Tacoma at Tyee Marina and my new slip.

Celebrations in Tacoma























Confident and Seasoned  Sailors
Honolulu to Tacoma: 2812.5nm




























I write in my journal:
This trip has been the most remarkable, the most difficult, the most beautiful, the most rewarding, the most exhausting, the most valuable learning experience in my life as to this date.
“Let the stars guide me and the winds carry me through the waves of my life” written in the late 1970’s by me. A dream come true but never completed. There is always a beginning, but never an ending.

Oh yes, now its time to head back to work.

Sabra Log 27 July 82 The Long Awaited Landfall- Cape Flattery

27 July- At midnight 0000hrs we all decide to be up, one to steer a very accurate course, one to be lookout as we have lots of fog< 1/6th of a mile and no one can catnap.  Zero wind, drop the main and 130 lashed to port. Our auto pilot gear stripped at 2100hrs so having to  hand steer.

0200 hrs- Mike called Seattle Traffic control and they turned us over to Tofina Traffic Control for the strait. Tofina is on Vancouver Island. They pick us up on radar and will track our course and speed of 4k at 82TC. They alert us there are 2 fishing boats adrift ¼ nm north of us and we will pass south of them in 1 hour. They were tracking all ships north of 48 degrees and the strait.. There were 2 cruise ships Fiord and Royal Viking Sea approaching Cape Flattery during this time. 2 Russian vessels and 500 fishing fleet vessels. It was very interesting to listen as he moved ships around. Fog continued and at daylight we had and lost 2 salmon and landed one. We are having poor visibility and the place is crawling with lots of recreational fisherman. They appear out of no where and we are dodging them left and right.

























0800 hrs we are 7.5nm from the cape. We are all excited, to say the least, however we stand vigilant..
0942hrs. Our Loran alarm goes off telling us we have reached our waypoint at Cape Flattery, but everything is shrouded in dense fog.  We are putting all our faith into our Loran fixes and Dead Reckoning Positions(DR) and continue to hold our course for Neah Bay.



















Mike quickly computes our real ETA and compares it to our estimated ETA from Hanalei.
We miss our estimated ETA by 6hrs, 57 minutes and 39 seconds. Mike writes in the log book. 98.67% Accurate. AW SHUCKS!
























1000 hrs-we move out of the fog bank which is a wall stretching from Cape Flattery to Vancouver Island. The sky is blue, the trees green and the snow capped Olympic mountains take your breath away.
Flags go up
Mike fixes SSB antenna



























1200hrs we arrive at Neah Bay entrance buoys. We tie up, get motel room, do tons of laundry, sleep, eat and make lots of phone calls.
Well Done, Well Done
A happy Captain and her crew.
























Hanalei Bay to Cape Flattery
21 days, 18 hours, 42 minutes, 10 seconds
2554.5 nm

Sabra Log 25,26 July 82

25 July- 0800hrs- winds are dropping and at 15mph, we shake out  2nd reef and at 1000 shake out 1st reef.
1415hrs- unable to start engine on aft tank again, so went thru process of bleeding fore tank and then switching. Winds are very lite so ran the engine and motor sailed 2040 hrs.
At 1600 hrs we were able to make contact with KMI for the first time in daylight hours. I got a call through to my boss, Joyce in Honolulu, Mom had call in for us so we talked to her and finally located where Bambi was and talked to her. She is in the San Juan Islands and will take the ferry over to Port Angeles and meet us there. My mother said the PAO( personal affairs officer) at Madigan/Ft Lewis, WA. Has been trying to call me as they
want to to meet us upon docking in Tacoma for a story. Our transmissions are not always clear but we hear them well. KMI really works the antenna for clarity for each ship.
Around 2000 they started picking up Neah Bay on VHF radio. This is encouraging. 137nm to go to cape.


Ghost sailed all night. Well I am happy, we got our storm to move us along. Now about that Cape Flattery Fog that is so present this time of year.
Total engine hrs-102

 26 July- at midnight I took watch from Jean. As she went below I heard a pin drop. At first I thought it was something Jean had dropped. NO, I said to myself, I’d better check the vang. It was a good thing as the “o” ring had come out of the snap shackle and the spring and pin had fallen on deck and the shackle and vang were just hanging, swinging. I jumped forward lying over the winch on my stomach and grabbed the pins. After Mike helped me take the main down I rewired the fitting.
0200 hrs- wind veered only making 3k. Dropped main and ran 130 to port, steering 070CC. Had to tack downwind all night.

Over the past 1000 miles we have observed strange brown coiled objects in the ocean with a line running off them and they have nobby heads on them with a tail part coiled about 10-20 ft long. The reddish brown wavy stuff hangs in the water for quite a distance.( giant kelp)
















2 Orca whales showed up and played with us for about 30 minutes. I took movies of them. Such beautiful animals.

0830hrs- Mike and I put 38 more liters10 (gal) in the fuel aft tank Engine started without bleeding fore tank. We now have 50 liters in aft tank and 8 gal in fore tank. Engine hrs for this trip are 102hr 6 min.This is the most the engine has run and it just purrs along. We are now using the cold start button.
Fog has prevailed since yesterday and visibility is about a mile. We have pre-programmed 2 waypoints on the loran. We are now having it on for a direct course to 48.27N, 124.45 W which is 2nm north of Duntze Light, off Tatoosh Island and Cape Flattery. At 0830 hrs we are 99.2 nm away.
1039- Just finished another repair of the auto pilot. During the storm a fuel can shifted and broke off  the male dc connector of the auto pilot. Took a male from the spot light. After doing this Humpy still wouldn’t work, so took him apart again and traced a loose connection.. all is well and back on Humpback steering our course 070CC at 4.1 k without wind and light fog. Spotted Matson container ship off port at 1130 hrs, coming thru fog about 3 miles away. Eerie.

1000hrs- I cooked pancakes, coffee for breakfast and switched into pacific daylight time zone-8th at noon. Cleaned cockpit and straightened out 2 fouled hand lines. Started running a salmon lure. Played with Radio Direction Finder(RDF) picking up Neah Bay radio beacon. As of 1600 hrs we have 75.4 nm to go.
Out of paper plates, butter. We never ran out of water that day I noted such. It must have been an air bubble or those sneaky gremlins again. Catching up on light lists, charts, locations, tide tables and currents for the Strait.
Jean is cooking up a rare, non fish dinner- chicken, mushrooms, green beans, onion, garlic and soy. Cloudy all day, no sun, fog cleared. Have to stop and eat this wonderful meal. I can’t sleep awaiting Cape Flattery.



Tuesday, March 20, 2012

Sabra Log 23,24 July 82

23 July- I write, today is 25 July and I have not had time, energy or desire to write. The winds begin to pick up around 1000hrs from the north 15-20 then to 25mph.  Unable to start engine from aft tank fuel, and get a lot of air out of line and start from forward tank.

1500hrs- Winds pick up 30 mph. We put in one reef in the main, take down the 163 and bag it. The 160 was lashed on deck from earlier use, so we bagged her and put both below. Then brought back up the 130  and hoisted her. Each bag is as big as Jean and I and they are very hard to move in this wind. We both are moving slow to get this done and Mike is hand steering. It is a tiring 1.5 hours to get it all done, but this has to be done to get ready for a gale and darkness. We have just gotten our storm and Sabra is kicking up her heels. You go girl.  At 2200hrs we are 394nm from the cape.

24 July- Winds-north- have increased to35mph at 0100hrs.
0400 hrs- We are all up to put the 2 reef in main and leave the 130 up. The seas are huge and daylight is beginning. Sabra is doing very well, then some beeg rollers come thru perhaps 20-25 feet high. We had some 45 gusts  and once the anemometer was pegged 2x at 50mph, but mostly stayed 30-35. We had to take the vane off, as the gaskets slipped on that lower mounting bracket. Back to hand and bungee steering. Have switched to 2 hrs on and 4 off. We are very wet, it is cold, the condensation is running off the cabin walls.
1300 hrs. We have re-bled the engine to start on forward tank and then switch to aft tank. We can’t get engine to start on aft tank even with bleeding it.  We are eating little for day and half, no cooking.
Electric bilge pump also acting up again. Now hand pumping q 2 hrs, depending on the amount of seas crashing on us. Thank heavens for that new dodger extension and weather cloths. They keep most of it off us.
2200hrs-240nm to Cape.

Sabra Log 21,22 July 82

21 July- 0001 hr- no wind, sails down, engine on 340CC, making 4k.
Mike fixed breakfast- great eggs, bacon, toast, hash browns and coffee.
I slept til 1300hrs after breakfast.  Got up cleaned and put on new long johns as it is colder. If only the sun would come out. No wind.

The 1900 weather update does not look good
The high is at 48N and 145W.
There are 4 ridges:
1. Extending northeast to 60°N Lat.
2. Extending southwest to 30°N
3. Extending south east to 45°N
4. Extending south east to 25°N
Our DR is right in the long ridge that goes south east to 25° We are at 46N and 140W.























We have had engine on and off  and have had to tack too numerous of times on headers for a sane mind to consider.
We take the 160 down as she gets back winded and is getting a chafed place at spreader bar. Will tape and sew. Will switch to my 163% when we can as it is a lighter sail. Wind fluctuates from NE to NW and is 5.

We have added 10 gallons to aft tank at 1600. I am trying to keep up with mileage to go/fuel consumption/ fuel remaining. Also this liter aft tank drives me crazy as I can’t compute it in my head so always need the calculator.  We have enough fuel for 596nm and at noon we have 689.1nm to go. Where are the westerly’s? We need a storm!








Transferring fuel to aft tank.















This is frustrating. Our total run for 24 hrs noon to noon was our worst- 89.5nm-ugh. We floated thru the time zone and we will now factor in our max variation of 22E. Our autopilot went out at 1800hrs, the port micro-switch stuck. It took me 1.5 hrs to fix so all is well. I am pleased we have been  able to make all our repairs. It is rewarding to be able to do that at dock, but when one is underway it is even more rewarding.
The engine is doing well, using about a liter and hour and the batteries are staying up. We have all lost weight. 

At 2040 hrs, Jean is on, Mike off. I’m at nav station so with the engine on, the cabin is warm, the red nav light creates an inviting picture from the cold cockpit. Mike and I discuss the high and fuel consumption. We 3 toast with some hot chocolate-another Windsong gift+ 3 postcards from Annie, Leslie and Nancy. We sat down and wrote them all cards and will mail them when we reach shore. Windsong is a Cal 25. 

I still believe that we will ride this high out and have my 20mph winds and 4 ft seas to take us to Cape Flattery without fog. In the meantime we are all praying for wind.

At 2100hrs the electric bilge pump stopped.
I place a note in logbook:
At end of each watch, hand pump bilge at aft cockpit pump--handle is located in engine control locker.  Will fix in morning. Total engine hours 85.75.

22 July- Awoke this AM about 0900. Jean and Mike had set the 163% with 10 wind and engine off at 0830hrs. It is a beautiful sail and one that I have never used as it is very light. In Hawaiian waters I only used the heavy sails. 
Jean repaired the 160.  I rewired the electrical connection to the electric bilge pump. I cooked 2 meals today, the last of that wonderful cabbage. Still have a few onions and potatoes left. Made corn bread muffins tonight and they were really good. 2nd day without fish.

Winds held NW all day. Hope we can get underway. The vane is doing well, the wind goes from8-20 which means the tiller needs trimming constantly. Winds pick up we head up, winds down and we fall off. Compass swings from 30-70. I could just scream at times. It is so frustrating. I don’t think that we will ever get there. I’d just soon wake up from a good night’s sleep and be there. This is ridiculous. The high is still stationary with ridges going to Alaska, Cape Flattery and all the way to Baja. Gales are sandwiched in between the ridges. We still might be 2 days late reaching Cape. Will try to notify Bambi tomorrow depending on my watch.
No sun again, but not as cold. The weather said a cold front is moving across the north. So far we are always dry which is a relief. I guess the weather could always be a lot worse. I re-read the loran book. Mike kisses the Loran 4X a day. 
Tonight it is so dark that I can’t see the coaming on the other side of the cockpit. Sabra is moving nicely with full main and 163, 10-12 wind. Getting good loran fixes and near our DR. The days go fast and these nights are long. I  do not like the 4 hr night watches, much too long, especially the midnight to 0400. The 2 hr dog watches that Mike made up on his computer and printed out, are nice but they are at 4-6 and 6-8 pm. It is 2230 and only 1.5 hrs to go. Hope I can stay awake. We have steered pretty much a course of 045CC all day and night. At midnight 535.4nm to the Cape.



Sabra Log 19,20 July 82

19 July- Overcast again, a lost day, I am exceptionally tired. Slept all of my off watch time. Today is not good for all of us. Our first snippy day.
We still are holding with the 160 and full main,  045 CC, 10 NW wind and at 1600 we have 880.2nm to go.












































20 July- Our mother’s birthday. She is 69 years old. Jean went on watch frustrated.  Mike had come down off watch before she could get dressed and ready. The boat veered off course, and she ran out to grab the helm, but the genny back winded. She had a hard time getting her back on course and it back winded again. I went out to help, as she was still trying to get her clothes on, steer the boat and get oriented. I said that no one goes off watch before the next person is ready to come on. A lesson learned.- all of which could have been prevented. We don’t need to break apart now.
0800-1000hrs- Jean fixed breakfast, I’m on watch and it is cold. I had to dig out my down bedroll at midnight- my sheets were damp and the wool blanket isn”t keeping me warm enough. After breakfast we all talked about yesterday events of being a zero day, and not working together. We all decide to help each other more, even when we are tired/exhausted. The closer we get to shore the more we have to be working together.
We got headed again during the night. The winds are light and are using the bungee cord on the tiller. We choose to hand steer as we need to be driving at maximum and as close hauled as possible to steer our course.
At 1200 hrs, we turn the engine on and are now in the 9th time zone and factoring in 20°E. variation. 775.4nm to go. Loran coming in better but still not = with DR. No chance of noon or LOP sight. My mother thinks that the closer we get to shore the better she will feel and we will be safer. I’m not telling her that the closer we get to shore, the more chances that problems can arise. My birthday gift to her.. silence is golden.

Sabra Log 17,18 July 82

17 July- Last night’s sail was beautiful. The skies were total black, the phosphorescence illuminated the boat so well that the water around us was brightly lighted. The occasional cresting wave would be aglow, really beautiful. The ocean waves are  mesmerizing.

I awoke to hot coffee perking. How nice. I wonder what hotel I am in? My watch this morning is 0800-noon and the water is slick- fog with some patches of blue sky. The jelly fish were floating everywhere. It is brisk and cold. I do love being on the water early in the morning with a mug of hot coffee. Sailing the Sound will be a new experience.

After my midnight watch last night I came down and explored fuses and switch panels for one hour. Mike had taken watch, so we decided to look today.
As I  was on later watch, Jean was taking morning LOP shot, 1 nm off DR. Mike started tracking short.
Compass, stereo, and VHF out, Strobe, spreaders light ok today.


Gremlins making havoc? NO, he discovered the wire to the panel  for these items had worn through as it went down the 90° angle to go to main fuse panel. The water had dripped on itt and shorted it out. The SSB was ok. He repaired the wire with butt connector, but I should replace it when settled.

We motored sailed all day. Transferred 10 gallons of fuel to aft tank. We have 194.5 liters remaining. Used slightly less than 1 liter/hr, which gives us a 778nm range at 4 k. The sinks are draining today with no heel. Using salt water to brush our teeth. It makes my mouth feel good-gums like it or maybe brushing one’s teeth in anything feels good?

Jean fixed breakfast- chili cheese omelet with toast. At lunch I fixed grilled cheese sandwiches. At 1600 hrs. we had asparagus and artichoke salad and at 2030 hrs we had fresh albacore  sashimi. We had caught 2 and lost one. They make better sashimi than ahi or mahi.


Finally got thru on KMI and woke my mother up at 0100 El Paso time and midnight to my friend Bambi who is waiting for us in Wa. State. She will join us when we reach Port Angeles, Wa in the Strait of Juan de Fuca.It is  a relief to get a call thru. Mike tried to get a call thru to his sweetheart, Lynne, but the line continued to be busy.

The high continues to remain stationary over the majority of central and northeast pacific. We had to tack north again at 1945 hrs- port tack 30 CC. Our 2200hrs position is 42.42N, 149.03W. Engine running nicely. I do wish we would get some wind-1078nm to the Cape. I started reading up on the Strait and Neah Bay marina.

18 July- Had a nice watch 0400-0800 hrs. Still on motor. Opened another Windsong gift after breakfast of macadamia nut pancakes that I cooked. The sun was out for the first time in 2 days, so we celebrated with their gifts of party hats/balloons/whistles/ and plastic leis. What timing. They are so thoughtful and what a great idea it is to have these special fun filled gifts to open on certain days.  Took movies of us. Caught another albacore but threw it back.












































0800 hrs- Loran now on Alaska chain 7960. Position 43.20N, 148.36W. We now have NW wind at 10-12, holding 50CC with engine off, vane on, main down with 160 up and we will wait to see if we can carry 130 also.

1700, we have broken the 1000nm line and have 998.7nm to go to the Cape. It is so peaceful at sea. We are so content about this magnificent experience of our lives to date. I have learned so much in 2 weeks that my mind is boggling. Each day brings new experiences.

Sabra Log 15,16 July 82

15 July- Winds still out of the north and at 1400 having difficulty holding 60TC. Our lat 39.24N and long 151.57 W. Still under 160 and full main with 10-15 wind. Overcast and cold all day long.
Have had a super fishing day- unreal- have hooked up with 14-15 Albacore tuna ranging in 10-40 lb. size. We are catching and throwing back. We stop fishing for the day at 1600 hrs and bring in the hand line for the night. Most were caught on the hand line including the big one, which Jean had to gaff to get on board. We kept one large fillet for tonight and threw all the rest back. They are beautiful fish but very bloody. Sabra will never be the same after all that bloodshed on the lazerette.

Tried 3 hours on the SSB last night and 1 hour this morning.
Fixed the salt water pump, so it is now working. For some unknown reason the water won’t drain out the galley sink, so we continue to use the bucket and throw it over.

We are having trouble holding a northerly course, which we need, but are being pushed east, but it is more important to gain northing first. Hopefully, the westerlies will restart, otherwise we are going to be in a bind. I sure don’t want to have to tack up the west coast.!
2000 hrs- NE trades force us to tack which puts us on 0 degrees heading with 15 wind. We run into a fishing fleet of 5 boats which put us all on watch for 3 hours as we carry parallel courses.

16 July- After  a busy day, I was already tired when I went on watch at midnight. After 2 hours I became very weary and started dozing off. The winds wer light and I kept finding my way off course and getting stalled. Finally at 0230 hrs I turned on the engine, stood at the gallows to stay awake, but kept falling off to sleep. Finally at 0300 hrs. I woke Mike up and asked him if he could relieve me early. He is so sweet and  replies, “certainly, darling, I‘d be happy to”. He is the sweetheart and both Jean and I adore him. What a great man and he has such a good heart. We all get along so well on the boat and have sailed many miles in Hawaii  together. I went below and fell fast asleep with my boots, survival suit and safety harness on. I awoke for my noon watch.

Jean took several sights including a noon sight which put us 2 miles north of our DR. We are really doing well with our DR. The HP is easy to use so we get an instantaneous readout every hour. These are being kept in the log book, however we are aonly plotting noon positions on the master chart.

NE trades continue all day and was beautiful until about 1500 hrs. when it clouded over. I retightened the starter generator belts which only took 30 minutes, but it took almost an hour to takedown and put back all the parts that get in your way, Mike’s bunk, cushions, boards, framework to engine compartment, tools, etc.



Cooking is terrible on this starboard tack. The drawers/doors want to slide open and things fall out. The galley is long and the sling is good for the stove and oven, but not the sink, ice box. You end up holding yourself with one hand, but you need 2 and 2 to reach for things. The port tack is so easy to cook on, as you can lean into the galley. I prefer a small, one butt galley aft. Speaking of cooking we ate the albacore tuna for dinner.. ONO. Which means delicious in Hawaiian.
Position at 1500 hrs: 41N and 150W
Out of water in rubber tanks.
Winds 15-20 mph, moving along very nicely with 160=main.
Jean got strike on the big green lure.
The day has passed so quickly, it seems like I am just now waking up and it is 1700 hrs-ready for the long cold night again. I’m going to put on long johns, change my socks and put on my jogging suit. I’ll take off my new shorts and top that I have now worn for a week.


As of 0800 this morning we are 1208nm from Honolulu and 1211 nm to Cape Flattery. It is so nice when we are moving. It has been fatiguing to hand steer and keep the boat sailing and motoring.
I am now one hour into my 2000-2400 hr watch. My warm things are nice.
The seas are 2 ft and the NE trades are 13. Sabra is slicing though them easily. The ride is like velvet-what a beautiful ride. The skies are overcast and it is drizzling. We have seen very few stars or it could be the dodger extension is up all the time!

Sat listening to SSB for 2.5 hrs-  I can  hear them clear as a bell-wait for a break thru to speak- it is hard to make contact. Some of the phone calls on KMI are funny. There is lots of drama between the families at home and the fishermen at sea. Have listened to some of the Victoria -Maui racers and a conversation on the Royal Viking Sea tonight. The SSB channel was sending out morse code on channel 8 which is KMI. I’ll have to tell Mike about that in the morning. Compass light out, strobe light out last night.
When I get off watch I will look at switch panel near Mikes bunk. All those items have worked faithfully.

I feel so much better after that long sleep last night.























 We all have had very strange dreams. It will be good to sleep like a real person again. Last night watch almost did me in. It was painful to stay awake. I’m doing good tonight- only 2hrs and 45 min to go. I think about my new little lake front house. It will be good to get settled, however I will miss living on Sabra.

There is a second high which is preventing the westerly’s from taking place. We are pushing thru a ridge. It will be nice to get those westerly’s and sail with the 160 and 130 poled out. I really liked that. (In hindsight I want to add a comment at this point: 1982 was the first big announcement of El Nino. The pacific high split into two. This had a big effect on our course. When we first got those early westerly’s we cranked off riding them right into a hole and then had to tack back out to gain northing. Now this upper high is north of us with 3 big ridges of storms and calms. We are having to deal with all that. So much for that easy course of sailing a 1000nm North on a starboard tack and turning right when the westerlies show up.).

Sabra Log 13,14 July 82

13 July- Awake 0830 hrs to sound of Jean’s reel screaming. Hooked up with 2, 5 lb Aku within an hour. I cooked breakfast- aku and garlic/potatoes/onions. I have never eaten so much onion and cabbage and potatoes, but they last forever.
0100 hrs- a wind shift  and lightened to 10. Everyone up, Mike at helm and Jean and I tackle the sail change. It is our first at night. We took down the 160 and took the pole off the 130, but left her up. 30CC. The spreader lights did not work but had good reflection from the anchor and running light. We moved very slowly and carefully and were lashed in with safety lines.

0930 hrs, we took the 130 down, and put the full main and 160 up and ran that all day. The wind is doing some funny things: westerly, then SE and now Northerly.

2000 hrs- Spotted a ship off our stern, I had said to Jean earlier since we were approaching the 40th parallel that we should be spotting some ships bound from Japan to California. We established radio contact and he was coming from Japan to Los Angeles. He updated our position to be slightly east and north of our dead reckoning position. 37. 56 N and 155. 21 W. He was moving very slow and took over an hour to pass us off our stern about an ¼ of a mile.This is the upper range for our Loran which is nearing a 300 mile area in which the signals don’t overlap. We have been running on DR since yesterday and were able to take several sights today which also put our position more east than our DR. At any rate we are continuing to advance our DR with a speed of 5k. Tonight we ran the loran on TD’s and not Lat/long just to see what it would do. It put us N and E of our DR. In about 2-3 days we will pick up the Loran Alaska chain. We continue to us Mike’s HP to compute our DR and sights. Mike’s knee is still limiting his capabilities greatly.

 2200hrs- 12 wind, 2-4 seas and cool. I put on my jogging outfit and wool watch cap. We have run the engine a total of 12 hrs.
Jean fixed a great dinner tonight.  Aku with cold slaw/apple/peanut/carrot combo. Yummy.
Small birds have circled the boat each evening and stay all night with us. They play with the wind indicator which looks like a bird. They make lots of noise and are cute acting.
With the light winds the vane is doing a horrible job steering. I can’t get it right since the freighter passed. It steers us from 30-90cc so I switch to hand steering as it keeps me awake.Today was such a gorgeous day. Unable to reach KMI due to poor reception.

This adventure is all about gaining skills and confidence with ocean sailing, navigation and making minute to minute decisions. I only have 30 days of leave so it is imperative that we make the best time/speed/courses.  I don’t want to be AWOL and thrown in the brig upon arriving.  The commanding General of Madigan Army Medical Center is getting  briefed on our positions.  I am the first Physical Therapist in the Army to make this kind of duty change; sailing from port to port, many people are keeping track of us and time is critical.
I’m off  watch 2400hr/0000hr and Mike is on. I’m tired.

14 July-Awoke in time for my 0800 hr. shift. Minimal wind, no steerage, ended up getting twisted around and heading south. Started engine at 0830 hrs.  Jean started repairing gear mechanism for auto pilot. The brake switch doesn’t click in so the traveler runs off the track and got it fixed at 1140 hrs- a 3 hr job. Humpback is back on track and steering Sabra. We are under power but with 160 up. I was very cold from 0400- 1000 hrs this morning. 10 porpoise stayed with us for about 30 minutes. As much as I would have liked to hang out and play with them, we couldn’t. I was focused on steering while Jean was working on the auto pilot. Mike was sleeping.

Jean fixed French toast for lunch. It was the first thing to eat since yesterday at 1600 hrs. We were all starving and each of us 4 pieces. 
We have recomputed our DR based on ships updated info. We have gone 1100 nm. We compute a new ETA for Cape Flattery: 1413nm away @ 5k= Which is about 11.5 days which will be the night of the 25 July. Will see how close we will come to that. Our original ETA from  Hanalei Bay to Cape Flattery is  21days, 11 hours, 44 minutes and 31 seconds.
It has been overcast and cool all day. 
The days pass so fast, that I have trouble remembering what day it is.
Still under power all day at 1700. Have used 14 liters if fuel in 20 hrs of engine time.


Sabra Log 11,12 July 82

11July- Sunday. I believe I slept 7.5 hrs. How wonderful. I got up at 0730 hrs, put the coffee on and cut up potatoes, and listened to the weather. Jean on watch, Mike asleep. I go on watch at 0800 hrs. Jean finished cooking breakfast. A double strike on the fishing lures but lose both. So stay with eggs, hash browns, onion and toast. I was starving.

We have been set west for several days to stay away from the high and ridge, so now we will have to start heading back east. Long. 159.59’ which puts of west of the island of Kauai. This is our farthest westerly position and the deepest waters to sail in: ~ 20,400 feet deep. We reset the vane and head 0°Compass Course. We are on a broad reach, port tack, the 160 pulling nicely with 10-12 wind and 2-3 seas.

We all bathed, transferred all the juice from the icebox( in head area) to the ice chest(no ice) in the cockpit. Put all the liter water bottles in the icebox, cleaned cockpit, galley, separated out all the wet potatoes that got wet yesterday from the leaky filter. I sat in cockpit and scrubbed all the potatoes, towel dried them and re-stowed them. I was washing my well worn bathing suit and t-shirt when Jean and I had strikes. It ran 7/8 of my line out, my reel was hot and I was tightening my drag and lost it. Jean got hers close to the boat but the lure pulled out. We have lost 4 big ones today.

A big glass fishing ball from Japan floats by our stern within 5 feet. 
I put on nice new clothes and everyone is shocked to see me so nice.
Mike is tackling the SSB antenna so hopefully we can transmit tonight.
Today has been delightful, no problems, beautiful sail, overcast so not hot. Our bathing salt water is cooler and takes your breath away with that first bucket.
Practiced taking sights today. I  lie down to take a nap at 1430 hrs but Mike come below to check out the SSB radio, which is at the Nav station and next to my bunk. I pull the radio out and he says all the connections look good.

1600 hrs- A strike on the new purple lure on the hand line after Jean put it out. 2.5 ft Mahi~10 lb. Jean fillets it and it is in the skillet cooking along with onion, cabbage ginger  and soy. I baked bran muffins in the oven.

My first time to bake muffins











Mike repairing vane a few days ago










Finally got a call through to Joyce, my boss and friend in Hawaii. She will call family and others who are on the call roster. The PT clinic has a big chart up with our updated positions. The soldiers are enjoying this nautical event. My mother is most concerned about this voyage as she is  keeping Jean’s daughter Erin. She states that she worried twice about me:  this trip and when I was stationed in Viet Nam in 1969-70. The first time I called her on this trip to give her the lat/long she did not have a clue as to what I was telling her. It never occurred to me to explain to her how to write down lat/ long. Degrees, minutes, seconds, North and West. Her first position was questioned by several of my nautical friends. We live and learn. Speaking of learning:
Mike showed Jean and I how to use his HP calculator for Rhumline and sight reduction. Really neat and so fast.
2135 hrs- What a great day! Going to my bunk.

12 July- Very rolley during the night. Not much sleep and I am tired this morning. Mike stepped wrong and pinched his meniscus in his knee so he’s resting in his bunk and can’t bear much weight on his leg. 
Today Jean and I poled out the 130 to starboard and the 160 to port and dropped the main. Lots of sail 10 wind and 2-4 seas.
The 130 poled out to starboard
Vane steering from westerlies
























A nice day, Mike hobbled to make grits for breakfast and I cooked chili, onions and cheese for lunch. Our first canned meal.  NO fish today, our first without. On course to Cape Flattery. Nights are getting cooler, but still warm in daytime.
Was clear all day, no rain squalls. It is so pleasant and smooth. It seems as tough we are all tired every other day, so I am looking forward tob e rejuvenated tomorrow. Listening to KMI which is not clear tonight.

11 Jul shows our most westing
from Kauai

Sabra Log 9, 10 July 82

9 July- Hauled in a long skinny fish ? Name. Had the drifter up for an hour 0745-0845 hrs.
I cooked toast, bacon, eggs and coffee for all. (A side note: I had sailed some with the Sailing Granny of Australia- Ann Gash. After sailing around the world in her 20 ft Folkboat,  she came through Hawaii a couple of times in her newer 24 Folkboat. She taught me to put all the bread out in the sun to dry it out. It is then hard and won‘t spoil, and when placed in the skillet with a few drops of water and butter, it makes the best toast. Thanks Ann.)(my hard dinghy, Ilimetto, was hers that I bought…of course there is a very long story about that)

Busy day- retaped the chafe at the bow pulpit. Hooked up a block and tackle from the topping lift to pull the vane back up into position. Re-secured  that with new gaskets. Took one and half hrs. NO wind so it was easy to work. All the sails were taken down and we were just drifting. The mahi and ahi were diving and jumping around the boat. We changed out our fishing reels and just clamped the reels on the boom gallows’ uprights.  Makes for an easy stable way to bring these babies in. We can stand and lean against the gallows  for support.

We motored for 4 ½ hrs because of zero wind.
We took salt water baths on deck. Feels so good to be clean.
1430 hrs- slight westerly wind came up so we put the 160 back up.
Mike found more goodies that people had stashed aboard.
We are now 521 nm from Hanalei. Only put on 94nm yesterday. Averaging about 132.75 nm /day. From Kauai. Hopefully this light westerly wind is an indication that we are moving out of the high and ridge. But we are still pretty far south to be picking up the westerlies.
The sea is so blue; the sky overcast all day- recauked the port winch base which is still dripping water on my bunk below. I like being at sea when its comfortable- getting into a nice routine-we are all happy and having fun with lots of giggling.

Ahi continue to swarm the boat all day- sometimes you can see 10 swimming within 6 feet under the surface an both sides of Sabra and off her stern. We put on 2 new lures and at 1700hrs and  Jean got a strike in 2 minutes and a few minutes later we has a double strike and landed both ahi at 1730 hrs--just as we were contemplating dinner. Mike and I went below to fire up the stove..fried onion, cabbage and left over bacon from breakfast. Made soy and hot mustard mix, while Jean cut up the ahi. We sautéed some and ate some raw. There is nothing like ahi sashimi.. We have enough ahi for another 2 meals.. Each one weighed about 10 lbs and was feeding on squid. As Jean was cleaning up the lazerette, she tossed the lure over to rinse it off and immediately got a strike on the lure as it was hanging in the water. In came another 10 # ahi, but it was returned back to its home. We will only fish when we are out. It is unreal how plentiful the fish are. We have caught more in 4 days than in the last 4 years.

More fish
Nice Ahi-had to gaff this big one


























It is now 2130- I just went out to readjust the wind vane for Jean. The wind is returning and holding 10-12 mph and is westerly. It is early to be in the westerlies but good old Sabra can’t be becalmed too long. She is picking up smartly and we are again headed with pride north on course.
We finally practiced some sights with the sextant. Jean and I had more accurate sights than the ole salt Mike, and with his calculator we get the answer in less than 2 minutes.

1900 hrs- we are not able to pick up our loran signal- also approaching the upper range of the signal area, but somewhat premature.We have had a glorious day in spite of no wind and having to motor for 4.5 hrs. But it is great we got the vane re-positioned. The night is really black with cloud cover- you can hardly see the bow. The days are warm and the nights are cool, but still warmer than when we left HI.  We just need a few clothes on while in the cockpit. The weather cloths and the dodger extension really help keep the weather off us. 

I am so glad to be doing this- life at sea can be really pleasant- once one is out of the turmoil the islands make of the seas. This has got to be the most pleasant sailing I have ever done in my life. I even enjoy cooking and can stay below without any complications.
Will begin my watch at 0000hrs.

10 July- Resumed good loran fixes thru out the night. Terrible watch-no wind. I hand steered and trimmed sheets for light air. Finally after one hour of critical trimming was moving the boat through dead calm water, like glass. I went below to run a fix only to find out I had made 1 nm in the last hour. During the short time I was below I returned to the cockpit noticing that Sabra had turned herself off course and was heading south. I started the engine but after a long delay and screeching noise. I figured it might be the starter generator belt. I ran the engine for 2 ½ hrs and then later Mike picked good wind 10-15 mph at 0530 hrs.
This has been a strange day- no one felt like eating-all out of sync. We had to clean house, throw out some rotting food. Everyone slept their time off.
1345 hrs- we crossed the 33rd parallel. 

1400 hrs- Mike and I started to see what was happening with the starter generator. The belts were loose and no slack left in the bracket. I had purchased new belts prior to leaving. 3 hours later we completed changing out the belts. Had to dismantle the alternator to do it. Engine is the original Volvo MD2B. 

We had 20 mph winds and 2 ft seas- now on a westerly port tack. Several rain squalls with winds gusting to 30 but the seas are now flat. We are still carrying the 160 and full main. Don’t you just love it? The boat is healed slightly all day and as we were sitting on the floor working on the engine I noticed some liquid on the floor. Humm. It could be salt /freshwater or urine, the test is in the taste. I try to convince Mike to take the taste test, but no luck. I taste it and it is fresh water. Whew.
I unscrewed the water tank (flexible) floor board to find the water oozing at a constant rate with each movement of the boat. The fresh water galley pump had not pumped for a few days but I thought there was perhaps air in the line or pump. I opened the galley locker and found the fresh water filter had come undone from the hose- as the boat heeled the water would ooze out of the filter top. After taking all the stores out of that locker and re attaching the hose to the filter. Then put all the goodies back, re screw the floor boards, put all the tools away. I then crawled up and under the v-berth filler board, removed all the items stored there, I lifted up the cover on the flexible forward water tank to see about one gallon left in the tank, which meant we had lost about 20 gal. We are not concerned however, so far we have used about 4 liters of bottled water for drinking, coffee. We will keep a close watch on the water supplies. We are bathing, washing dishes and brushing our teeth in salt water so have minimal fresh water demands except for drinking water. I will add to the list to check that filter attachment. It is amazing how the action of the boat does undo things. The main sheet unscrewed the top to one of the jugs of diesel that is in the cockpit. This happened twice in one hour, so we readjusted the traveler. 

I am on watch now, pleasant 10 wind, seas 2, wind out of the west and we are on a beam reach port tack. Gentle sailing, partly cloudy skies, no moon, pitch black, a few stars, lots of phosphorescence. The vane working nicely. Only used 5 liters of fuel with 9 hrs of engine time. (Sabra’s aft fuel tank is in liters and the forward tank is in gallons. This drives me crazy, as I am continually computing fuel from liters to gallons)

I am pleased to have picked up the westerlies so early- makes for a nice ride. A low pressure area is north and west of us which will bring 30 mph winds which should scoot us along. Will start thinking about falling off at 35 north and start our trek eastward to make progress in longitude. A hurricane Daniel is brewing off Mexico but is much too far away to affect us.

We left Honolulu a week ago and it seems like forever. We are making decent time considering the light winds and the high and ridge. Will pick up speed after we pass the high which is 33N. We are just above it.
We are having a good time and all of us love being on the sea. It is calm and peaceful. I had pictured huge seas and big winds, but it has been very comfortable ever since we got out of the turmoil of the Hawaiian waters… My watch is up in 45 minutes at midnight. The time has flown fast tonight for me. We opened another of Windsong’s gifts. It was a book on logic and problem solving. Gosh, I think we have enough of our own problems to solve without reading about other scenarios. Other gifts have been a collage of our Maui cruise, an ahi flag, banana chips, and logic book. They are all neat ladies. I will miss them. Just finished watch and went below, but smelled alcohol. Found a leak at valve stem which tightened up nicely with wrench. Can’t believe I am doing a repair a midnight and enjoying it.

I am becoming more in tune with Sabra daily. I no longer get ruffled about the amount of time and energy that it takes to stay on top of things. The significance of tending to chores early is critical and magnified out here. We have to keep tending to her every need as she is our survival. Without her being ship shape, we cannot exist in this environment. She is truly so alive in the ocean. She’s made for the sea, so beautifully balanced. Sparkman and Stephens knew what they were doing when they designed her.

5 Jul- North from Hanalei Bay Kauai 


Monday, March 19, 2012

Sabra Log 7,8 July 82

7 July- 0000hrs taking watch from Jean. Fishing vessel off port, collision course, I flip on tricolor light. Full moon with good visibility. She passed our stern ¼ nm.
0130 hrs- 2 lights ahead; 1 to port, and 1 to starboard. A rain squall blocks my vision. I get Mike and Jean up to help me. After a short rain both boats appear very close off starboard bow- It is now abeam ~ 1nm away. The wind is lightening and somehow Sabra falls off course and I turn around seeing she is heading due south. I am bringing her back up to north heading and realize we are converging rapidly with a vessel. I bring Sabra up, up, up rapidly and pass fishing vessel on its port qtr ~ 1/8th of a mile. Within 15 minutes of when you see their lights they are on you.  At night it is very hard to see the lights, you can’t see if they are running nets, you can’t determine the course or the speed. It is just plain and simple: a difficult task.

0500 hrs. Jean spots a freighter steaming from east to west at about 26 N. passing our stern. A good watch is critical.
0800 hrs- At 26°36’ N and 263.9 nm from Hanalei.
Tried to call KMI on the SSB radio twice but no contact. (this is a radio telephone company. We were trying to call friends and family)
The sailing this morning is idealic-20mph and 4 ft seas.
Heated coffee tasted good, finished off Brownies that a friend had made. Also each had a box of raisins. They were made up as leis, so if needed be you could wear your raisin lei around your neck and nibble away. Friends are priceless. I can move around the boat better with some degrees of stability.
Feel good after a good sleep. I wrote in the log for yesterday, today. May even change my shirt and brush my teeth.
Sabra is doing so nicely. She really is an ocean vessel-driving thru the seas like a sharp knife, no pounding or hobby horsing. At times you are not even aware of the motion, she is heeled slightly and she slices thru the waves at a steady rate-driving- really beautiful to see.
Dolphins came at sunset and played off port side of cockpit yesterday along with a few birds.
This morning I am so peaceful and restful. I was beginning to wonder about this sea business. I’m not so sure I enjoy being bashed around. God’s it hard-so many bruises- my seat is sore-my muscles ache, but today I feel a peace, I’m getting my sea legs.
1600 hrs- a double Mahi strike- lost one pulling him onboard, but other was 2 feet long and about 15#
We got the one prepped and in the skillet immediately. How delicious- what a pig out- our first big, hot meal…oh my gosh. It’s like heaven.

1900 hrs- We have had a gorgeous day- 20 wind and 2 ft seas. Full main + 130%
Tried to call KMI again but no contact. It’s disappointing
There is a sunset tonight so have to go out to see. I feel so much better. Making nice time-all is well. Everything is getting easier to move about.
We are loving it.


This is what it's all about.



































































8 July- No vessels sighted during the night. Winds lightened 10-15 mph, 2 ft seas.
0600 hrs- hooked up with another mahi about the same size as the other one. They were traveling in pairs, but second one did not strike. Jean cleaned him and placed in a pan. I made coffee, and cooked toast, left over mahi, onion and eggs. Yummy.

Jean happy with fishing results.























We are busy bathing, drying out bed sheets. Finally got around to brushing my teeth for the first time.
Only making 4 k- weather is getting cloudy. Probably should put up the 160 jenny, but so many things that need to be done.
We are on auto pilot, as the bungee doesn’t hold the course in light winds.
Put duck tape on the pee bucket-Mike sat on it and put a crack in it. It looks quite fancy and am pleased with my surgery on it without the sterile environment of the OR.
Should hit the 30th parallel tonight.
It is amazing how Sabra just keeps driving ever so easily and we keep putting on the miles north. Its fun to turn on the loran and in a few seconds we have our position, push another button and we have our distance made good from Hanalei. We plugged in 30 North latitude for a way point and can get reading for ETA, course made good and speed made good. We haven’t taken a sight yet- each day it clouds up so haven’t messed with the Celestial Navigation yet. Will start practicing to cover us when the loran goes out of the 4990 chain.
1000 hrs- had a very busy morning so far.
1100 hrs. Got the 160 set, full main, wind 12mph- 1-2 ft seas. What a beautiful ride. Lots of flying fish.
All bedding dry. 130 is stowed-had a small tear in upper panel which I carefully repaired. Had to bring it back to the cockpit to sew and then fold.
Will leave 160 as long as winds don’t exceed 30 mph.
Very comfortable…A beautiful sail.
Logged 146.3 nm since noon yesterday-best run- current is assisting us.
We are at 29.25.8 N and159.11.7 W. Have traveled 432.5 nm from Hanalei
Had short nap while running engine for 40 minutes.
The captain and crew of Windsong, Cal 25 has given us all kinds of wrapped gifts to be opened on certain days. Today was a can of cookies and one can of banana chips…no one in Hawaii would jinx your boat with banana items. That is a no- no..Bad luck for fishing. So the chips went over board.
We have been playing the music from the Chariots of Fire.
Still unable to reach KMI on the radio. Nice night- we took 4 hrs watches for the first time.
At 2000 hrs we were over the 30th parallel.

Sabra Log 6 July 82

6 July- Seas and wind are down 20 mph wind/seas 6-8 ft. We dried the survival suits out after a cold and wet night and without much sleep. Everyone is taking 2 hr watches. We are exhausted and finally are able to go below to get some sleep. Bunks are wet but new wool blankets are the trick.

Humpback the Auto Pilot       A Very Tired Hira
The Gale has quieted.
Our First Mahi- Mahi 
























Loran is working like a charm. What an investment- the way to go as it is always updating our position.( in 1982 Sat Nav was new and you had to wait 45 minutes for the satellite to go over to get a position., so I had a loran installed.)  A Hawaiian ti leaf is attached for blessings and we bow to it on a regular basis. Ti leaves adorn the auto pilot, the vane, and the man over board pole.
Eating fresh fruit, PBJ sandwiches. We had to throw out the rotting celery and lettuce.
It is still difficult moving about and going to the bathroom is such a chore.
1400 hrs- we shook out the second reef in the main

Sabra Log 5 July 82

5 July- At 1130hrs we weigh anchors, hoist the sails and depart Hanalei Bay. We decide to go with a 130 % jib and a single reef in the main. Winds are 30mph.
Departing Hanalei Bay
Freddy the wind vane
























1400hrs- riding nicely with 130 and single reef, winds 30 mph with large seas. I notice some trouble with the vane brackets holding the shaft and see the vane start to slip downwards. All hands on deck. We got a line on the vane and I took several wooden clothes line pins apart--they make great shims. I hammered them in only to see them work out. I have brought some extra pieces of wood and cut them into larger wedges of about 7 inches long. And hammered them into the bracket gasket attachment to the vane shaft. The upper bracket begins to shear and move at the through bolt. We are taking big seas on the aft lazerette which is making stern work wet and difficult. . We loose a pair of vise grips overboard. All three of us take turns lying on our stomachs, reaching out under the lower rung on the pulpit to work. I make a hand steered down wind course change to open the lazerette .We empty the lazerette out of all the carefully stowed items,  Mike crawls inside it which is very large and comfortable while I steer and Jean is working on the outside bracket. Between Jean and Mike they get all the thru bolts re-tightened and the vane secured.  .  I bring Sabra back up to weather and get her back on heading 0N.  Since we had been running fishing lines, there is a nightmare to untangle. I climb back on to the lazerette and spend an enormous amount of time sorting out the mess. I remember thinking how patient I was. A new decision was made no lines at night and only one with high winds. I watch the waves demolish the wood wedges and I hammer a new set in. I watch in disbelief that this new set works out and is swallowed by the deep blue Pacific Ocean. The vane starts to slide downwards again. I get new lashings and tie the vane in a lowered position and the brackets are holding. We will leave it this way for now. Sabra is being steered nicely with my $ 2.00 bungee cord. Meanwhile back to the fishing lines and after 30 more minutes they, too, are secured. After 1 ½ hrs of vane and fishing line work  we all feel exhausted.


The weather is worsening 35mph wind, 12-15 ft seas rolling with good distance between them. We put a second reef in the main and continue with the 130.  Looks like a long night ahead. Sabra is driving like crazy. She is loving this. As you know, Finnish boats love that wind and waves of the north seas. We all remain as a tight little group in the crowded cockpit. The dodger extension and the side panel weather cloths keep the majority of waves off us.

Thank goodness I had prior notice of the lunar event of the century that was going to take place tonight. A lunar eclipse, the longest in a century was happening starting at 1918hrs and continuing until 0040hrs 6 June. As the eclipse progressed, we could not see each other across the cockpit and in spite of the stormy night the skies were open enough for us to see the whole eclipse. The moon became reddish brown. It was very interesting and eerie to see. One is really never prepared for the total darkness of night sailing. You have to trust the wave pattern is favorable and steady, the winds remain constant, and the red light of the compass is your only clue as to what is happening and God forbid hitting or being hit by some ship or object. Sabra is like a thoroughbred horse at the Kentucky Derby. She has her bit in her mouth and galloping full speed ahead through un-seeable waves. She is out in front and nothing is going to pass her. This boat gets my juices flowing and tonight, while being exhausted, I rest comfortably in the exhilaration of this special moment.


As I type these notes, I am reliving her/my love story. She was my dream come true. I longed to sail the oceans and always wanted a world class sailboat. When she and her previous owner sailed into Honolulu from a south pacific storm, I fell in love with her the moment I saw her. On our sea trial, which still had moderate winds and big kona seas from the south, the owner put up the full main and a 170% genoa. I gasped when he shared his sail selection for the day. I could not believe how this boat sailed. It was the most exciting boat I had ever seen or been on.


The first 24hrs we logged 140nm at 5.9k.